In his speech on Sunday Maliki warned Iraq’s neighbors against sowing unrest, praised the army and warned that foreign conspiracies were behind the demonstrations, much as Syria’s President Assad had said earlier on Sunday of militants fighting against his rule.

The Prime Minister used the example of Syria[5] as a warning to protesters. Syria’s revolt has led to an estimated 60,000 deaths since protests broke out in March 2011.

Maliki also urged politicians to stop “bickering” and “leave the army to itself”.